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Alpha Stage
What Makes a Car American
March 26, 2007







USA Today is running an article entitled, “How do you tell which car
is more American?”

The article highlights that “The world is no longer as simple as us vs.
them, Detroit against the Asians and Europeans.”

It states, “Ford's hit Fusion sedan is made in Mexico; only half its
parts are from the USA or Canada. GM pitches its small HHR sport
utility and giant Suburban straight at the American market, but they,
too, are built in Mexico. HHR has only 41% American and Canadian
parts.”
Read the Article!!


Discussion-Starters for Younger Children

  • Ask your students what it means to “build” something? Have
    them name some things that are built and some things that are
    grown?
  • Consider asking students to draw pictures of items that
    fit into each category.

  • Ask your students how they feel after they build something.
    Ask them if they like to build things for themselves or if they
    like it when someone else does the building. Encourage them to
    explain why.
  • Students could list "feeling words" or adjectives in
    response to these questions.

  • Ask your students to build something with toys. (e.g., blocks,
    Legos®, logs, etc.). Then, ask them what they might do to
    improve their products (e.g., make a building less likely to tip
    over). Can your students think of anything that isn’t part of the
    original construction material that they used, to add to their
    product?
  • Consider inviting students to work in groups of two or
    three for this activity. It would be helpful if you had
    some materials for students to use available, such as
    construction paper and toilet paper/paper towel tubes.

  • Do your students like cleaning up their toys in the classroom or
    at home? Why/why not? Ask them to imagine that they could
    invent something that moved toys from one place to another,
    making it easier to clean. What would it look like? How would
    it work?
  • Encourage them to draw the product that they are
    imagining. Ask them why they drew it that way. Does
    the “toy mover” look like a car? Should it look like a
    car? Why/why not? What else could it look like? How
    would a flat board with wheels work as a toy mover?
    What kinds of problems might occur if toys were
    moved on a flat board with wheels?
  • Consider using a Venn Diagram to compare two
    different types of "toy movers."


Discussion-Starters for Older Students

  • Vocabulary terms to discuss: Import; Manufacturing; Global
    Economy; and, Outsourcing.

  • Ask your students if they think it’s important to know where a
    product is made before buying it. Why/why not?
  • Consider asking them to do a quick-write in response to
    this question.

  • Do your students think it’s important to buy products made in
    the United States? Why / why not? Is it important to buy the
    least expensive product if that does not mean sacrificing
    quality? Why/why not? What if the least expensive products are
    produced outside of this country?
  • These questions should prompt an interesting class
    discussion. Be sure to get to the third question.

  • Should one American care if another American has a job?
    Why/why not? How might an employed American be affected
    if the unemployment rate in this country was very high? How
    might an unemployed American be affected if the
    unemployment rate was low?
  • Consider asking students to write reflective essays in
    response to these questions. Students could even be
    asked to include statistical information to support their
    points.

  • Should an American care if a Chinese person has a job?
    Why/why not? How might an employed American be affected
    if many Chinese people lacked jobs? Explain!!
  • Consider asking students to develop a graphic organizer
    explaining how the American and Chinese, or domestic
    and international, markets interact with one another, in
    regards to production, consumption, income, and
    expenditures.

  • The IPod is built in China. But it’s made by Apple, an American
    company. If Americans buy IPods are they supporting the
    Chinese economy over the U.S. economy? Why/why not?
    Does it matter?
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